Trimmer

“ I'll do what I can."
"And you can do a lot. Watch me until you see me lead Trimmer away. Then get his pet. I'll steer Trimmer somewhere near the beach, and keep an eye on the Lileth. When you get George safely aboard, wave a red light in the bow. Then Trimmer and I shall part company for the night."
"I'm on," said Wall, rising. "Anything to help Harrowby. And—this won't be the first time I've waited at the stage door."
"Right-o," said Minot. "But don't stop to buy a champagne supper for a trained seal, will you? I don't want to have to listen to Mr. Trimmer all night." ”

“ It is, in short, to be a Trimmer in the true sense of that honorable term; which for some reason or other is always used in a sense exactly opposite to its own. It seems really to be supposed that a Trimmer means a cowardly person who always goes over to the stronger side. It really means a highly chivalrous person who always goes over to the weaker side; like one who trims a boat by sitting where there are few people seated. Woman is a trimmer ”

“ I've been watching your work for the last week, and I like it. It's alive—progressive. We're putting out a new car this spring—an inexpensive little car bound to make a hit. I need a man like you to convince the public—"
Mr. Trimmer's eyes opened wide. They shone. He turned and regarded the unhappy Jenkins.
"Clear out," he commanded. "If I ever see you again I'll wring your neck. Now, Mr. Harrowby, you were saying—"
"Just a minute," said Harrowby. "This man has certain letters and papers of mine—"
"No, he hasn't," Trimmer replied. "I got 'em. Right here in my pocket." ”

“ Lord Halifax, who is described by Dryden under the character of “Jotham” in Absalom and Achitophel, was at the head of the party called Trimmers; and in his “Preface to the Character of a Trimmer,” thus explains the term: “This innocent word Trimmer signifies no more than this: that if men are together in a boat and one part of the company would weigh it down on one side, another would make it lean as much to the contrary, it happens that there is a third opinion, of those who conceive it would be as well if the boat went even, without endangering the passengers. ”

“ A malignant growth so close to the brain that at her age an operation was too serious a risk, and without it she might linger in agony for months,—this was what life had been holding in store for Trimmer during those long years of incessant toil, and self-sacrifice, and obstinate belief that a drunken husband, a selfish brother, an empty purse, were all for the best in our best of all possible worlds. ”

“ Trimmer’s meritorious exertions and literary labours, by conferring a similar favour upon her son. His noble behaviour and generous intentions towards Dr. Beattie, are sufficiently detailed in the life of that amiable man, and excellent writer, by Forbes. He gave, with a very slight personal knowledge of the individual, a considerable benefice to Mr. Twining, the learned Translator of Aristotle’s Poetics, from no other inducement than his esteem for his talents and erudition. ”

“ No, my beloved nestlings, never will your wretched father be at liberty to guide your flight and instruct you in your duty." Here his voice faltered, and overcome with bitter reflections, he resigned himself a prey to silent sorrow.
"This dove is not happy, however," said the hen redbreast to her mate, "and no wonder; but let us attend to the notes of that lark." His eyes were turned up towards the sky, he fluttered his wings, he strained his throat, and would, to a human eye, have appeared in raptures of joy; but the redbreasts perceived that he was inflamed with rage. ”

“ Humorless, misguided, and chronically given to believing even the most outrageous gossip, "Whig" cuts a foolish and therefore amusing figure when pitted against the sophisticated, trenchant-minded "Tory." "Trimmer" is quite different. L'Estrange here creates a much more intelligent opponent, one who is given the liberty of satirizing "Observator" himself and even patronizing him with the nickname "Nobs." Instead of naivete and obvious stupidity, "Trimmer" has the guile and surface morality of the perfect hypocrite, a "pretending friend" as "Observator" notes in Observator III, Nos. ”

“ As soon as he recovered,—
"Why cannot I soar as I see other birds do?" said he.
"Alas!" cried the mother, "we are in a place of confinement, we are shut up, and can never get out; but here is food in abundance, and every other necessary." "Never get out!" exclaimed the whole brood; "then adieu to happiness!" She attempted to soothe them, but in vain.
The little redbreasts rejoiced in their liberty, and Dicky gave up the desire of living in the aviary, and wished to be gone. ”

“ Accordingly, they flew to a tree, the branches of which formed a part of the shelter of the aviary, where they easily heard, without being themselves observed, all that passed in it.
"Come," said one of the linnets, "let us go on with our work and finish the nest, though it will rather be a melancholy task to hatch a set of little prisoners. How different was the case when we could anticipate the pleasure of rearing a family to all the joys of liberty! Men, it is true, now with officious care supply us with the necessary materials, and we make a very good nest ”

“ HARRIET AND FREDERICK FEEDING THE BIRDS.
In a hole which time had made in a wall covered with ivy, a pair of redbreasts built their nest. No place could have been better chosen for the purpose; it was sheltered from the rain, screened from the wind, and in an orchard belonging to a gentleman who had strictly charged his domestics not to destroy the labours of those little songsters who chose his ground as an asylum. ”

“ So now I hope I have fully accounted for having kept canary-birds in a cage."
"You have indeed, mamma," said Harriet.
"I have also," said Mrs. Benson, "occasionally kept larks. In severe winters vast numbers of them come to this country from a colder climate, and many perish. Quantities of them are killed and sold for the spit; and the birdcatchers usually have a great many to sell, and many an idle boy has some to dispose of. I frequently buy them, as you know, Harriet; but as soon as the fine weather returns, I constantly set them at liberty. ”

“ Whilst all the business related in the last chapter was going on in the redbreast family, Harriet and her brother were walking home with the poor birds in the baskets. "Well, Frederick," said she to him, "what think you of bird-nesting now? Should you like to occasion the deaths of a number of little harmless creatures?" ”

“ Harriet was fearful lest they should sting, and Frederick was running away; but Mrs. Wilson assured them the little creatures would not do any mischief if no one attempted to catch them. "Bees are, in their natural dispositions, very harmless creatures, I assure you, Master Benson," said she; "though I own they will certainly sting little boys who endeavour to catch them in order to suck their bags of honey or take out their sting; but you see that though I have hundreds about me, and even on my face and arms, not one offers to do me an injury ”

“ To tell the truth, I do not concern myself much about them: if they live, they live; and if they die they die. He has brought me three nests this day to plague me; I intended to have fed the birds before I came out, but being in a hurry to come to see you, I quite forgot it. Did you feed them, Edward?"
"Not I," said he, "I thought you would do it 'tis enough for me to find the nests."
"And have you actually left three nests of young birds at home without food?" exclaimed Harriet.
"I did not think of them, but will feed them when I return," said Lucy. "Oh!" ”

“ Mrs. Addis, seeing this, flew to the little animal, endeavoured to soothe it with caresses, and was going to beat Augusta for touching it, but Mrs. Benson interceded for her; she was, however, sent away into the nursery. Happily for children, there are not many such mammas as Mrs. Addis.
The tea-things being set, the footman came in with the urn; and, both his hands being employed, he left the door open. To the great terror of Harriet, and even of her mamma too, he was followed by the monkey they saw in the hall, which, having broken his chain, came to make a visit to his lady. Mrs. ”

“ Trim had one day missed a fine morsel from the hungry activity of one of the young gentlemen who dined in the gunroom. Seeing him, however, talking and eating at the same time, my persevering gentle-man did not give it up, though the piece was half masticated and only waited for a period to disappear; but running up the waistcoat of our unsuspecting guest, for Trim was but then a kitten, and placing one paw at each corner of his mouth, he laid vigorous siege to his morsel; and whilst the astonished midshipman inarticulately exclaimed "G--d d--n the cat!" ”

“ Trim found he was upon a wrong scent, and stopped short with a low bow—Two misfortunes, quoth the corporal to himself, are twice as many at least as are needful to be talked over at one time,—the mischief the cow has done in breaking into the fortifications, may be told his honour hereafter—Trim's casuistry and address, under the cover of his low bow, prevented all suspicion in my uncle Toby, so he went on with what he had to say to Trim as follows. ”

“ Slop, interrupting Trim, is more detestable than all the rest;—and seems to have been taken from some pettifogging Lawyer amongst you:—Amongst us, a man's conscience could not possibly continue so long blinded;—three times in a year, at least, he must go to confession. Will that restore it to sight, quoth my uncle Toby?—Go on, Trim, quoth my father, or Obadiah will have got back before thou has got to the end of thy sermon;—'tis a very short one, replied Trim.—I wish it was longer, quoth my uncle Toby, for I like it hugely.—Trim went on. ”

“ Back and forth along the lower edge of his yard the farmer hunted, with the whimpering, cowed terrier to guide him, poking in dark corners with the muzzle of his shotgun for the unseen intruder whose coming had aroused the household. In a brushpile just over the fence to the east Mr. Trimm lay on his face upon the wet earth, with the rain beating down on him, sobbing with choking gulps that wrenched him cruelly, biting at the bonds on his wrists until the sound of breaking teeth gritted in the air. ”

“ Trimm was not without a conscience, any more than the majority of her friends. If she loved money and wanted more of it, this was because she wished to be like other people, and not because she was vulgarly avaricious. She was willing to keep what she had, though a part of it should have been George’s and was ill-gotten. She wished her brother, Thomas Craik, to keep all he possessed until he should die, and then she wished him to leave it to her, Charlotte Sherrington Trimm. ”

“ Many a little boy may learn a lesson from them. Do you not recollect one of your acquaintances, who, if an apple-pie or anything that he calls nice is set before him, will eat till he makes himself sick?" Frederick looked ashamed, being conscious that he was too much inclined to indulge his love of delicacies. "Well," said his mamma, "I see you understand who I mean, Frederick, so we will say no more on that subject; only when you meet with that little gentleman, give my love to him, and tell him I beg he will be as moderate as his redbreasts." ”

“ Thereupon Trim, thwarted in one direction, endeavoured to rob his neighbour Lorry Slim, ‘an unlucky wight,’ of a threadbare pair of black plush breeches. The sketch ends with Trim's signal humiliation. Much of the jesting is coarse, but throughout Sterne gave proofs of his capacity as a literary artist in humour. In its general tone it adumbrates many characteristic features of ‘Tristram Shandy.’ The name Trim Sterne transferred to his novel unaltered. ”

“ For a moment or so Orr looked him in silence up and down; then, turning to one of those who were standing round:
‘What’s his name?’ he asked.
‘Tristram, Orr! Jaspar Tristram!’ they all shouted out. ‘Did you ever hear such a name?’
‘Oh, well,’ said Orr, ‘of course we can’t have such a rotten name as that here! What shall we call him?’
‘I votes we call him “Rosy ” as he blushes so!’ observed the good-looking small boy who stood by Orr; and even as he was speaking Jaspar noticed what a curious charm there was in his voice. Everybody began to applaud:
‘Rosy, Rosy!’ they cried. ”

“ Finding at length that nature had not designed him for an astronomer, Trim had too much good sense to continue a useless pursuit; but a musket ball slung with a piece of twine, and made to whirl round upon the deck by a slight motion of the finger, never failed to attract his notice, and to give him pleasure ”

“ If Miss Sparling herself limed that snare, she certainly did it well; the obliteration of the face, with just the suggestion of a likeness left, was finely controlled; and yet the control may have only been Father Time’s; and whether it was luck, or whether Susannah Walcot was in truth a prophetess of penetrating power, who is now to say? The lengths to which the human faculties can go have often filled me with astonishment; Mr. Trimblerigg was only one instance among many. ”

“ Neeld admitted that he had no reason to impugn the Major's character.
"And I suppose he's sane," Iver pursued. "But he's just been telling me the most extraordinary thing." He paused a moment. "I dare say you've noticed something between Janie and young Tristram? I may as well tell you that she has just consented to marry him. But I don't want to talk about that except so far as it comes into the other matter—which it does very considerably." He laid his hand on Neeld's knee. "Neeld, Duplay came and told me that Harry Tristram has no title to the peerage or to Blent. ”